"If you have driven along a highway in North America, you have seen stands of phragmites or common reed in roadside ditches....A majestic plant that grows up to 18 feet tall, phragmites produces feathery purplish tassels that wave above the stems in late summer and turn golden tan as they age."

"Among longitude lines, the Paris Meridian is a diva with a long and glorious past. From 1678 to 1884 she reigned on maps as the Prime Meridian, 0 degrees, the longitude line that divided east from west and from which all other locations were reckoned."